The X-Files: Truth in Mythmaking?

Born out of the general public’s misinterpretations of the redacted portions of the Majestic 12 Documents, The X-Files probably single-handedly created a myth that is as American as apple pie. Commendations for FBI agent's Mulder and Scully?


By: Vanessa Uy


Do most people miss the good old days, those days back when where kids under 24 don’t give a proverbial rat’s posterior about the Majestic 12 Documents? Some fans of the TV series probably ascribe the “Roswell Incident” of July 1947 as the inspiration of The X-Files. Some say it’s those redacted portions of the Majestic 12 Documents. But just because the Majestic 12 Documents have earned an air of authenticity just because the then US president Harry S Truman signed them doesn’t mean that the particular document is the proverbial “Holy Grail” proving the existence of extraterrestrial biological entities and other related "Alien Conspiracies".

But maybe it’s more than that. Maybe The X-Files grew out of every liberal white Anglo-Saxon American’s weariness against the conservative extreme right. Or maybe the stifled attempts of questioning an ineffectual government, which at the time, the American people have grown tired about Washington’s denial about the truth behind the Gulf War Syndrome, Global Warming or other concerns were quasi-religious excuses were used to suppress the less-than-patriotic members of society. Or maybe it is just quite refreshing to see US Government employees - like FBI agents Fox Mulder (Or is it Mülder?) and Dana Scully - in their "overachieving" investigative antics - i.e. search for the truth no matter what it costs.

With the recent release of the latest X-Files movie – the last one was ten years ago by the way – the search for the truth had come full circle. Since there was growing proof – no by no means conclusive to us skeptics – stating that alien abduction memories are nothing more than victims of sexual abuse and / or organ theft victims “psychological defense mechanisms”. Or is that “coping mechanism”? The truth is out there all right, but whether the truth is to our liking or not is another story.